Pen Truth Contributor
When I opened Dan Brown’s “Lost Symbol” to find the quote: “To live in the world without becoming aware of the meaning of the world is like wandering about in a great library without touching the books.” I smiled a heartfelt smile. Education has been so very important to me and I always strive to learn more.
Some family members think of me as a “Know It All,” and I wish that I did. I have always looked to expand my understanding of myself, of others and of the world around me. Never do I fail to take time to look around or look up. When I was in college, Ronald Regan had cut education funding for the third time, tuitions kept going up, so I came up with the slogan; “Education is freedom, free education.” The irony is this; those that benefitted from a free education drastically cut education funding and placed tuitions on once free educational institutions.
Sometime around 1991 – 1992 I was watching a cable news channel. The program was a one-on-one format in a very plain studio with a white back drop. The guest was someone from the G. H. Bush Administration, the host was female. < I should note here that sadly I don’t remember who the interviewee was or the exact date the show aired, all quotes are paraphrased. > In fact, I was lost in thought during most of the interview.
The interviewer asked a question that promptly woke me from my daze; “Isn’t the administration concerned that another cut to education will cripple education?” The interviewer also noted that this would have been the third cut made during this administration on top of the four cuts that the previous Regan administration had already made.
The response floored me. As a result, my political faith and my political beliefs would never be the same. Until that day, I was a republican. What was this life changing revelation, this faith jarring admission, this truth that would end my trust in the Republican Party?
The cold, ruthless, calculated reality that struck me; “No we do not believe that this will hurt education. In fact, this administration believes that education in this country is too readily available and educated people tend not to vote on party lines.”
The first thing that the Maoists did when they gained power was to kill most of the educated persons. Imagine that, my party were Maoists in disguise. Get rid of all of the educated people, teach them only government/party approved education and you will have the perfect followers. The Republicans have evolved their strategy somewhat. People also have to be passive. Give them enough so that they are afraid to lose what they have, and provide a boogie man to fear so they always look away from the real threat; “Never mind the man behind the curtain.” Under educated, passive, fearful drones all of us.
Don’t let corporate America do to education what it has done to our justice system or national defense. Read, talk, listen, learn. Education IS freedom.